Picked up on a quirk that I’ve never noticed about the Pacers before and figured I should probably tell you about it. Also realized that I don’t often tease my work anymore. So, this is me, teasing the thing that I have coming out tomorrow.

Despite watching every Pacers game more than once, I picked up on something I've never noticed before: They have a really thoughtful and interesting hack for managing time in special situations. Allow me to explain. Link in replies 🧵

As you'd expect, Caitlin with a cool observation on how the Pacers are innovating when it comes to end of quarter strategy

Tremendous pickup from Caitlin. Fascinating.

This is a really interesting hack by Pacers on typical 241 strategy and amazing work by Caitlin Cooper (as usual) to figure out what was happening.

that's the 3D chess of end of quarter 2-for-1s 🤯

I LOOOOOVE This. Crash the glass when the risk for transition is at it's lowest. Shoot, if there's a leakout and the opponent scores in 3 seconds, Pacers still get the last look.

Long story short, I kept hearing them say a certain word in specific situations, which I won’t reveal. I thought it was a play call, but the actions weren’t consistent, and I knew the plays. Took me awhile, but eventually figured out it was actually a cue to OREB— not a play.

Brilliant find

There’s a reason lots of us talk about Caitlin being one of the best Xs/Os bball writers on the planet, and here’s a great example. Subscribe to her Patreon for consistently great content like this.

The tactic is great, but Caitlin breaking it down is even better

🌪️ Jarace Walker 🌪️